Recruiting Senior-Level Passive Candidates
Recruiting passive candidates is a topic that recruiters have discussed and debated for years. Countless blogs and articles have been written. Many tend to focus on defining who passive candidates are, why they are important, and how to find them. These are all valid, but perhaps the most crucial issue to hiring organizations is how to recruit these professionals once you find them.
First, let’s cover the who, why, and how to find.
Who are the passive candidates? Passive candidates are not necessarily seeking new employment. Most are currently employed and, for the most part, satisfied in their current roles. Active candidates, in contrast, are proactively seeking new employment. They tend to be unemployed or unsatisfied in their current positions. Some are semi-active candidates, who are employed, but selectively looking.
Why are passive candidates important? Some argue that passive candidates typically have a career history of stability and reliability; that they are more loyal, make better managers, and are more effective. The counter-assumption would be that active and semi-active candidates are less reliable and less effective. This is not always true. For any given search, the best candidates could be employed, unemployed, looking, or not looking. However, candidates who become finalists and eventually placements, tend to be employed and not necessarily looking to make a change, especially at the senior level.
How to find passive candidates? Executive-level professionals, passive or active, generally don’t post their information on resume databases or attend career fairs. Senior-level active candidates usually reach out to recruiters, send their information through online job postings, or network with other professionals in their industry. Passive candidates, however, need to be identified and approached directly. To do this successfully, it often takes proactive sourcing and networking by a skilled recruiter who knows the capabilities and experience needed for the role and the types of organizations where appropriate professionals can be found.
Basic keys to successfully recruit passive candidates:
Know the role and the organization: Beyond the basic responsibilities and qualifications, recruiters and hiring managers should know the unique challenges and opportunities of the position they are hiring for, and what makes this role and this organization different from others. What about this role and organization would be intriguing to someone who isn’t actively looking to make a change. For outside recruiters, developing a strong partnership with the client organization, with open and constant communication, is the best way to gain this understanding.
Get to know the candidates: Candidates have different levels of interest and different reasons for being interested. To successfully engage passive candidates, recruiters and hiring managers need to discover and appreciate each candidate’s motivations. What drives them? What are they passionate about? Why would they potentially be interested in this particular opportunity?
See previous post: ‘Why are you interested in this Position?’
Uncover roadblocks as early as possible: Despite an executive’s motivation for potential interest in a role, there are often roadblocks that prevent passive candidates from seriously considering a change. The two most common are location and salary. Making sure that the candidate’s salary expectations are in line with the range for the role is critical. Passive candidates typically do not leave their current roles unless there is an increase in salary. Relocation can also be a major concern for passive candidates. Many are reluctant to move. They may be tied to a certain geography because of family issues. They may have children in high school. They may own a home and are worried about their ability to sell. Identifying roadblocks early is key. Some roadblocks can be overcome, but if it’s simply not going to work, it’s better to know as early in the process as possible.
Paint the picture: Once recruiters know the role, the candidate, and have uncovered the roadblocks, they must “attract.” Experienced recruiters know how to develop a realistic, yet compelling narrative of how the qualities and opportunities of a specific role complement the unique motives and passions of the potential candidate. Each candidate is driven by different motives, and each will have different hesitations and roadblocks. To successfully attract passive candidates, the skilled recruiter will speak to what drives the candidate, while addressing their fears or hesitations. Paint the picture of what life would be like in this new role, and use examples of stories of candidates in the past that have made similar changes and been successful.
Remember the motivation: Once passive candidates have expressed initial interest in an opportunity, many recruiters and hiring managers often forget the “motivation” conversation and jump instantly to assessment mode. While candidate assessment is an essential part of the process to determine fit, developing motivation is needed for a long-term, successful placement, especially for senior-level passive candidates. Recruiters and hiring managers need to remember that passive candidates need more recruiting than those that are actively looking.
